To coincide with the International Day of People with Disability, from today Monday it is now possible via www.fcbarcelona.com to purchase tickets for the wheelchair zone of the Camp Nou, meaning such supporters can now enjoy the same advantages as all other members.

At the same time, the online system for the release of seats, Seient Lliure, is also available for wheelchair users, thus satisfying one of the demands such supporters have been making for some time.

Details of all of these services are now available in a special section of the FC Barcelona website, which contains all the information you need about the accessibility issues and the services available on the Club’s facilities. This site also explains which seats in the Camp Nou are the easiest for such supporters to access, including those who may not use wheelchairs, but still suffer from some form of reduced mobility.

Information is also available on the ‘T’acompanyem’ (we’ll take you there) system being arranged in conjunction with the Red Cross. Thanks to this service, visitors to matches in the stadium can ask for assistance from members of the Red Cross, who are located at three stands situated close to accesses 1, 9 and 14 on days of league matches, and two stands at accesses 1 and 14 for games in other competitions. These people will take you to your seat in a wheelchair, and will come to collect you once the game is over.

Personal care at the OAE

Remember that the Specialised Attention Office (OAE), which is located in a special section of the Barcelona Supporter Services Office (OAB), is responsible for the wellbeing of all club members that have a disability and/or reduced mobility. The aim of the department is to facilitate access to the Club facilities for all members and fans, and optimise and implement communication between FC Barcelona and such members and users, thus achieving an integral service and guaranteeing equal rights and opportunities for all FC Barcelona members in terms of the attention offered.

The FC Barcelona professional sections are having a great time in Europe: 19 wins and just one draw is the impressive overall record to date. That’s eight wins for the basketball team, seven for handball, three more in futsal, plus a win and a draw in roller hockey. The first three teams are already comfortably through to the next round of their respective competitions.

Impeccable in Euroleague

Barça Regal have been on stunning form in Europe, with an 8-0 record so far, including a win on the road at the always difficult CSKA Moscow (60-81). The Catalans have accumulated 631 for and 491 against, championship highs and lows in both cases. Barça Regal go to Partizan for their penultimate fixture on Thursday, December 6, and are already assured of a place in the Top 16.

Seven out of seven in handball

Xavi Pascual’s handball side is also into the next phase of the competition with a one hundred per cent record to date. Barça Intersport are four points clear at the top of their group and have the highest goalscoring tally in Europe, with 226 goals, and the best defensive record in their group, just 168 goals against. The competition in now on a break, and play doesn’t resume until late February, with a visit to Füchse Berlin.

Futsal team into second Final Four

Marc Carmona’s futsal team is enjoying yet another spectacular European adventure. Barça Alusport are into the UEFA Futsal Cup for the second time after an impeccable Elite Round, where they won all three games with 28 goals for and just one against. The defending champions set a tournament record with their incredible 18-0 win over MNK Split. In the final round in April 2013, they’ll be playing Kairat Almaty, MFK Dinamo and Iberia Star.

Joint leaders in roller hockey

Gaby Cairo’s side has one win and one draw so far in the European league. They drew their opening game against a tough and very physical Igualada HC (1-1). They then had few problems coping with French outfit Quévert (2-5) with Marc Gual on exceptional form. With three games still to play, Barça are joint leaders with Igualada HC, with four points each, and next face a tricky trip to Portuguese club Candelária on December 15, where they will be looking to hold onto their strong position.

1. Proud and Barça, the new book

2. The latest training session with Isaac Cuenca

3. Legend goals: Hristo Stoichkov (1st half)

4. Adriano returns

5. Quit Smoking with Barça (Ambassador video)

6. 113 years since Barça's foundation

Toni Freixa has also announced that there will be an Extraordinary Assembly in the first quarter of 2013 that will propose a reform of the statutes. “We are waiting for the definitive results of the mixed commission and hope to be able to reveal the basic content of that Assembly at the next meeting, proposed for December 17”, he added.

Freixa explained that it is the Board of Directors that is calling the Assembly and the that Statute Reform Committee “is no more than a work group that was commissioned by the Board, and which has worked hard on a technical investigation”.

The Solidarity Day, always in the round of 32 of the Copa del Rey

The Board has also agreed to definitively establish the second leg of the Copa del Rey round of 32 for future Solidarity Days. The most recent was just a few days ago against Alavés and was a huge success, with more than 42,000 tickets given away for free to people who don’t usually get the chance to come to the Camp Nou.

Freixa explained that there were no plans for the same to happen when Barça host Cordoba. “They are a top level team that deserves our utmost respect. Our members will be interested in coming to the ground”, he said. He added that next season, people will be able to free their seats for this game from the start of the season.

 1.- Audi presents new vehicles to first team squad

2.- A dream comes true for Gabriel

3.- Training session 24/11/2012

4.-Messi's debut: 16/11/2003

5.- Camp Nou pays tribute to Messi and Xavi

Below is the complete text of the communiqué:

“FC Barcelona wishes to express its active support for the Catalan language and the model of linguistic immersion which has been employed in Catalonia over the last 34 years.

Our language, like our Club, is an element which aids integration and provides a means to identify with our country, regardless of a citizen’s precedence or beliefs. The Catalan language and its teaching in our schools form part of our identity and are key elements for social cohesion and coexistence within our country.

For these reasons, FC Barcelona reiterates its desire to serve our country, as it has done throughout its history and to defend our culture and our identity”.

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It’s a double anniversary for the Club today: on this day in 1899 they played their first ever match against the English Colony in Barcelona in the old Velodrome in Bonanova. The Barça team didn’t play in their now iconic colours though, as the founding meeting of the Club on November 29th hadn’t decided on an official strip.

Two years later, in 1901 and on the exact same date, FC Barcelona played their first game with nets in the goals – beating Català 4-1 on the pitch of the Carretera de Horta.

[+] Review more in our History site

[+] All Legends of FC Barcelona

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Javier Mascherano will be third player to appear on #CampNouLive, the new way of bringing Barça players closer to their fans all around the world. After the experiences of Gerard Piqué and Xavi Hernández, it will now be the Argentinian who will be answering questions posed by the fans on the Club’s different social networks.
Using the hashtag #CampNouLive, supporters will be able to use Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Tencent Weibo to ask the questions that will be used in an exclusive interview to be published next week on the club website at www.fcbarcelona.com.

To send their questions, members and fans simply have to enter one of the Club’s social networks and send their questions using the hashtag #CampNouLive.

The Club will put together a selection of the best questions, and the player will answer them in an interview that will be published next week. The limit for sending questions is Wednesday December 12 at 12.00 (CET).

Piqué and Xavi, first players on #CampNouLive

FC Barcelona is seeking to consolidate the participation of its supporters all round the world through such initiatives as #CampNouLive. The first player to take part was Gerard Piqué, who via a Google+ Hangout was able to share his experiences with several Barça fans. Later, with the appearance of Xavi Hernández, #CampNouLive was consolidated as the method for bringing Barça players into contact with the fans who spread the Barça sentiment every day on the club’s social networks.

Leo Messi became the centre of attention when he scored a brace against Betis last night in FC Barcelona’s 1-2 victory at the Benito Villamarín. He also stole the limelight online when he broke Gerd ‘Der Bomber’ Müller’s record. On Twitter and Facebook, the striker’s achievement sent shockwaves around the world.

Twitter

On Twitter, 34,888 tweets mentioning the Argentine were posted at 21:28 this Sunday evening. In addition, from 21:00 to 22:00, 482,000 people were talking about Messi on the popular micro-blogging site. More impressive still, more than one billion tweets were posted about the Blaugrana forward from 16:00 (Sunday) through 1:00 (Monday). It’s worth nothing that Twitter registers impressions based on the amount of times a keyword - in this case Messi - shows up on a user’s timeline.

Facebook

The story of Messi’s 86 goals in 2012 was also popular on Facebook, where the Argentine has an official page. The message the striker posted on his page after the match received over 200,000 likes. It’s very close to the number of likes that FC Barcelona received on its Facebook posts regarding the striker’s feat (the first when Messi equalled Müller and the second when he broke the German’s record). Overall, FC Barcelona’s Facebook page notched up over 500,000 likes on Sunday.

It’s also worth nothing Leo Messi’s impact on Google+, where Barça enjoy the largest following of any other professional football club. On the social networking site, more than 2,000 users showed their support for Messi by giving a +1 to the Club’s posts regarding the striker’s record.

In the following days, FC Barcelona members will receive their bill for the 2013 FC Barcelona membership fee. This year the fee will be 177 euros for adult members.

This amount comes from adding up Catalonia's CPI (consumer price index) mid-year fee (4.2%) and the new adjusted VAT tax rate, which increased from 18 to 21%. Therefore, members will have to pay 11 euros more than they did last year for their membership fee.

The following is an overview of FC Barcelona’s membership fees, according to age category:

Tito, Xavi, ‘Pasqui’, Marc and Gaby have a lot in common in addition to the fact that they all manage professional FC Barcelona teams. The four FCB section managers (basketball, handball, futsal, and roller hockey) hosted Tito Vilanova - the newest manager to join the team- at the Palau Blaugrana for a meal.

Similar careers

The five men have all either played for the Club or been assistant managers before being awarded first-team manager posts. Their commitment to the Club goes well beyond their professional obligations, seeing that all of them spent time in the Club’s youth academy and they’re all Club members. “To go from second in command to first is a positive thing, but starting out is difficult if the results aren’t good, it’s more difficult to get noticed,” said Barça Regal manager Xavi Pascual. Vilanova, who was also an assistant manager before taking the head manager job, explained that “being a head manager is difficult, but being an assistant manager isn’t easy either. I would say it’s more difficult to be an assistant manager than it is to be a head manager.”

The conversation then turned to how they manage their players. Each one of them noted that their pasts as professional athletes - with the exception of Xavi Pascual, who never played a sport professionally - helped them find the right balance in the dressing room. 'Pasqui' said that when he was a player her would often imagine what it would be like to be a manager and now that he’s a manager, he imagines what it’s like to be a player. Marc Carmona noted that it’s necessary for the players “to know that I’m close to them, I like to be able to touch my players, physical touch - for me - is important.”

Style of play and the youth academy

The five managers are committed to the idea of bringing players up from the Club’s youth academy. The football team, for example, is reaping the benefits of the work done years ago. Vilanova explained the advantages of having homegrown players in the team: “Our style of play is so different from the rest of the teams that it’s just easier to send out a guy that grew up playing our style football. These players train their whole lives as Barça players, with the Barça system. If they play [for the first team], it’s because we think we can win with them on the pitch.” The manager went on to say that he believes the first team plays like the Club’s youth teams, not the other way around: “When I was in the youth academy my manager was Charly Rexach, and before that it was Quique Costas, and we played in a 4-3-3 formation, the same formation the first team utilises now. When Cruyff arrived the first team adopted our style of play.”

Barça Alusport manager Marc Carmona talked about the importance of reminding his players that they represent more than a Club when they don the Blaugrana strip. The manger talked about the last match of the 2011/12 season, when Barça had the game (and title) won with seconds left to go on the clock away to ElPozo Murcia: “When I told my players that they needed to know how to win . . . it was difficult. The final was decided and there was a real danger of emotions boiling over after such a long season. I saw that we could have made a mistake [in conduct and sportsmanship].” Xavi Pascual added that “the right attitude is not negotiable in all of Barça’s teams. Club members expect their teams to give it their all.”

Gaby Cairo commented that the first team players (in any sport) are role models for the youth players: “They are important role models. Off the court their image is normal, simple, and calm. We’re lucky to have humble players as role models for the youth academy.” 

The FC Barcelona professional sections are having a great time in Europe: 19 wins and just one draw is the impressive overall record to date. That’s eight wins for the basketball team, seven for handball, three more in futsal, plus a win and a draw in roller hockey. The first three teams are already comfortably through to the next round of their respective competitions.

Impeccable in Euroleague

Barça Regal have been on stunning form in Europe, with an 8-0 record so far, including a win on the road at the always difficult CSKA Moscow (60-81). The Catalans have accumulated 631 for and 491 against, championship highs and lows in both cases. Barça Regal go to Partizan for their penultimate fixture on Thursday, December 6, and are already assured of a place in the Top 16.

Seven out of seven in handball

Xavi Pascual’s handball side is also into the next phase of the competition with a one hundred per cent record to date. Barça Intersport are four points clear at the top of their group and have the highest goalscoring tally in Europe, with 226 goals, and the best defensive record in their group, just 168 goals against. The competition in now on a break, and play doesn’t resume until late February, with a visit to Füchse Berlin.

Futsal team into second Final Four

Marc Carmona’s futsal team is enjoying yet another spectacular European adventure. Barça Alusport are into the UEFA Futsal Cup for the second time after an impeccable Elite Round, where they won all three games with 28 goals for and just one against. The defending champions set a tournament record with their incredible 18-0 win over MNK Split. In the final round in April 2013, they’ll be playing Kairat Almaty, MFK Dinamo and Iberia Star.

Joint leaders in roller hockey

Gaby Cairo’s side has one win and one draw so far in the European league. They drew their opening game against a tough and very physical Igualada HC (1-1). They then had few problems coping with French outfit Quévert (2-5) with Marc Gual on exceptional form. With three games still to play, Barça are joint leaders with Igualada HC, with four points each, and next face a tricky trip to Portuguese club Candelária on December 15, where they will be looking to hold onto their strong position.

In the following days, FC Barcelona members will receive their bill for the 2013 FC Barcelona membership fee. This year the fee will be 177 euros for adult members.

This amount comes from adding up Catalonia's CPI (consumer price index) mid-year fee (4.2%) and the new adjusted VAT tax rate, which increased from 18 to 21%. Therefore, members will have to pay 11 euros more than they did last year for their membership fee.

The following is an overview of FC Barcelona’s membership fees, according to age category:

On February 2nd of 1987, hours after he was born, Gerard Piqué became a FC Barcelona member. Piqué’s grandfather, Amador Bernabéu, was the man responsible for enrolling the now professional footballer into the big family that is FC Barcelona. 25 years later both Piqué and Bernabéu attended the silver insignia award ceremony held that the Camp Nou’s Sala París, making Piqué the first active footballer to receive the Club’s silver insignia.

The silver insignia is awarded to members who have been with the Club for 25 years.

Piqué receives the award from his grandfather

Even though the commemorative insignias are usually awarded by the Club’s Social Area vice-president, Jordi Cardoner, on this occasion Amador Bernabéu was given the honour of awarding his grandson the silver insignia. The FC Barcelona footballer went on to thank his grandfather: “Thank you for everything that you’ve done for me, for loving me and for making me a Club member on February 2nd when I couldn’t do it myself.” Bernabéu, who is FC Barcelona’s representative to UEFA and an ex Club director, teared up at the sight of his grandson with the silver insignia: “He’s the focus of attention because he’s a born Barcelonista, he’s lucky enough to play for Barça and he’s very likable.”

“Being part of the Barça family is unique”

Piqué, who was also accompanied by his parents, grandparents and his partner Shakira, admitted that “being part of the FC Barcelona family is unique. You start to grow when you realise what this Club really stands for. It’s an honour.” The fullback added: “We must keep on enjoying this fantastic Club. It’s a Club the belongs to the members and that’s what makes it great.”

683 members receive insignias

Between this Tuesday and Wednesday a total of 683 members will receive the silver insignia reserved for members that have been with the Club for 25 years. The Club’s Social Area vice-president, Jordi Cardoner, who's in charge of awarding the insignias along with director Josep Ramon Vidal-Abarca, declared: “Thank you so much for your 25 years of dedication, joy and suffering. That’s 25 years of loyalty to your club and that’s what makes us great.”

Javier Mascherano is the third player to take part in the Club’s #CampNouLive initiative - a new way for fans to get closer to the players through social networks across the world. In the first part of the conversation Mascherano had with fans, he admitted: “playing here is like winning a prize –it’s a blessing”, whilst stressing what a good decision it was for him to sign for the Club in 2010.

Unforgettable Wembley

Asked about his best moment at Barça, Mascherano made it clear: “in the two years that I have been at Barça, but if I had to choose just one….the Champions League Final at Wembley. With Liverpool I got to a final, but we lost to Milan and I never though at that moment that I would have another chance”.

Mascherano also spoke about his experience changing positions to play at centre half, explaining: “Obviously I took the chance – you have to grab them when they come up in football- I couldn’t let it pass and I think it was the right decision”.

In the second and final part of the conversation between Javier Mascherano and web users on #CampNouLive, the player reveals who he most admired when he was starting out in the game: Claude Makelele. “When I was young I always tried to copy him because I thought he was one of the best defensive midfielders around. I always watched him and tried to learn from him, and then I got the chance to play against him when he was at Chelsea and I was at Liverpool”.

Mascherano also names the four managers that have had the greatest influence on his career (Bielsa, Benítez, Guardiola and Vilanova) and says that other than Barça, the team he most enjoys watching is the Spanish national team, whose football has so much in keeping with the style employed at the Camp Nou.

On a more personal note, he tells us that his favourite movie is ‘Life is Beautiful’ and his favourite musician is Joaquín Sabina. Mascherano also says that he dedicates most of his free time to his children.

#CampNouLive with Javier Mascherano (Chapter 1):

FC Barcelona has been totally renovating its website, and following the introduction of a Japanese version, fans and members from all around the world can now enjoy the very latest news and information on Barça in no fewer than seven different languages.

The Japanese language version of the FC Barcelona website can be found at www.fcbarcelona.jp, where all fans in Japan will not only be able to view the latest Barça news in their own tongue, but will also find content that is specially adapted to their own tastes and interests.

Japanese users will find a completely revamped edition of the website, which contains information on the football first team, the club’s values, and plenty of historical content so fans and members can get an even deeper understanding of the meaning of FC Barcelona.

“Barça’s new Japanese website is the best way of communicating with a very loyal audience that has expressed so much love for the team for many years”, said Dídac Lee, the director responsible for New Technologies.

Passion for Barça

Barça are intensely followed in Japan. In fact, the Asian country has more than 1,000 club members and two official supporters clubs, namely the Penya Blaugrana Sol Naixent and the Penya FC Barcelona Japan, who have done so much to promote the Barça name in the land of the rising sun They will all find www.fcbarcelona.jp to be the perfect platform for further spreading interest in the club in their country. FC Barcelona, groundbreaking as ever in the field of social networks, is also opening its sixth Twitter account. Following on from those in Catalan, Spanish, English, French and Arabic, the new arrival is @fcbarcelona_jap. Barça has more than 14 million followers on Twitter who enjoy real time updates about what is happening at the Club and to the football first team.

Christmas is becoming a more and more universal event, but it is celebrated differently in every part of the world. Households in Catalonia enjoy some especially ancient traditions.

To celebrate Christmas 2012, FC Barcelona has put together a new story featuring the Barça Toons, in which they explain some of these traditions in a fun way.

In this story, the Toons become the shepherds in an improvised nativity scene, a tradition that goes back to medieval times of using figurines to represent the birth of Jesus Christ in Palestine. Each player acts as a shepherd in the scene where the star announces the birth of the new messiah.

The Three Kings also appear, who are also important figures in any nativity scene. Every Christmas, Catalan families fill their houses with festive decorations. These include the nativity scene, a tradition that goes beyond its religious meanings to become a tradition in every sense, regardless of beliefs.

On Christmas Eve, Catalan children make what is called a ‘cagatió’, a tree trunk that contains their presents.
In this special episode of the Barça Toons, some very peculiar Catalan traditions are explained in a simple and fun way.

FC Barcelona has launched its digital festive greetings that it will be sharing with its members and fans around the world. At the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper, four members of the first team have represented the club in sending its seasonal message by writing its best wishes on a ball. It’s an appropriate choice, considering that the ball is so central to Barça’s unique style of play, and is now being used as the support for this festive greeting. In order for this year’s Barça message to get to more people than ever, it is being recorded in Catalan, Spanish, French, English, Chinese, Japanese and Arabic.

Participative greeting

FC Barcelona is also providing its supporters with a Facebook application that they can use to send their own FC Barcelona themed seasonal message on a ball and in collaboration with Leo Messi, Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta or Víctor Valdés. The greeting can be shared on social networks: on your Facebook wall, on a friend’s wall, on Twitter using hashtag #FCB2013 and can even be downloaded.

  Sharing best wishes